I think that it is time to change the title of this blog post series from This Week in COVID to something more generic. So, I am going with BCM (Baylor College of Medicine) News. This week’s video update from Dr. Klotman focuses on the Ophthalmology research center at BCM. It’s an in-depth look at the most modern Intra-ocular Lens (IOL) technology.
Most of my friends and blog followers are boomers, like me – some a few years older, and others a few years younger. I’ve had a cataract surgery and IOL placement. Susan is two years younger than me, and she has had both eyes done. Many of you have too. Some years after cataract surgery, the posterior capsule behind the IOL can scar causing what seems to be a secondary cataract. This is often treated with YAG laser treatments which burn away the posterior capsule in the optical axis thus restoring a clear path for light to the retina and fovea.
Cataract surgery probably goes back to ~1800 BCE – give or take. There are ancient Egyptian and Indian artifacts that point to such interventions. These left the eye aphakic – without a lens. These days, an IOL is used to give better vision. My IOL is the bargain variety. I asked for a lens that would match my other eye so that my glasses could have lenses of similar thickness. More modern lenses boast the ability to adjust their focus even after they have been implanted in the eye – mucho cool. See the video for the scoop.
In viral news (not in the BCM video update), the CDC has done some tests for bird flu in store-bought beef. H5N1 bird flu fragments have shown up in milk and beef. These fragments are not infectious, but one has to wonder what if whole viruses contaminated beef? The CDC used another virus to examine its viability in beef after cooking. The test virus survived in ground beef that was not cooked to MEDIUM. It was eliminated in beef cooked to medium, medium well, and well done.
Biological pathogens in beef survive best in ground beef. For one thing, ground beef typically has the meat of several animals – increasing the risk that one animal was infected with the pathogen (E coli, Flu, or whatever). For another, people are more likely to undercook a ground meat patty than a piece of steak.
The message from this CDC experiment is, “Cook your beef at least to medium, and minimize your risk of acquiring a foodborne illness.”
I’m a medium-rare kind of guy. Sigh.